


Lipstick Stain and Bad Champagne

by DaineVin



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: M/M, and peter does a seduction, peter is a force of nature and juno is just trying to survive, space gang does a heist, what are tags even
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 18:24:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18744583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaineVin/pseuds/DaineVin
Summary: The team goes to steal a high tech device, Peter gets to steal away Juno's breath along with it.





	Lipstick Stain and Bad Champagne

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know, okay? These things do themselves and I'm just here for the ride. 
> 
> That being said I am quite happy with this one, and it's good to be writing again. 
> 
> Please enjoy. 
> 
> And as always, thanks to @probablyjuno for being my inspiration! <33

Juno Steel had become a detective for two reasons - because he'd wanted to do good, and because he was good at detecting. Usually. And well, doing good had really gotten him into some not so great situations, so he'd given that up. Sort of. His life was complicated. 

But he was still quite good at figuring things out, and right now he was a thousand percent sure that Peter Nureyev was trying to get him into an early grave. 

You see, that was the thing about Peter, he wasn't easy to figure out, and every time Juno was sure he'd pinned the facts down, a new thing would pop up and send him spiralling again. That wasn't quite right. No, Peter wasn't the complicated part, and thinking about it Juno could pick out what was Peter and what wasn't. The complicated part was the rest of him that wasn't Peter. And in this case it was Jules Gold. 

Jules Gold wore three piece suits with floral patterns, killer heels to rival Pilot Pereyra, and lipstick as red as blood that turned his smile from sharp to dangerous. Jules Gold walked into a room like he owned it and he made sure all eyes were looking at him. Jules Gold was made to be a distraction. 

And they'd needed a distraction more than anything. Louisa Hawk was a woman known for three things. Her inventions, her money, and the parties she held monthly to show off both of those things. And she just happened to have invented exactly the thing Buddy Aurinko needed. It was a processing core of some kind, able to absorb environmental information and run calculations that would take scientists months. Juno didn't fully understand it but he understood enough to be impressed. 

So, Buddy had gotten them invites to Louisa's monthly party and crafted a plan to steal the core. Rita and Jet were to stay on the ship, Rita because she worked best remotely and Jet as plan b. Vespa was going to be sneaking through the vents and doing the stealing, and Peter, Juno, and Buddy were to make sure no one would suspect Vespa was in the vents. 

Their roles were simple. Juno was going to be on a lookout for the guards, since he had a keen eye for behaviour patterns, Buddy was there for support if things went south, and Peter, no Jules, was going to take on Louisa. It was a solid plan. 

Juno hung by the food table with a small plate piled up with foods from every planet in the system, perfectly crafted into bite sizes that were meant to only shove it in your face that it was rich people's food. He would scan the room every minute while stuffing another Neptunian roll in his mouth and washing it down with champagne that didn't even taste good compared to the price it sold for. 

And that's where the problem came. Not with the champagne, despite its atrocity, but with the fact that every time his eye went through where Jules was standing, towering over Louisa with his heels and that smile, he'd catch Juno's gaze and his smile would grow bigger, sharper in a way that promised to do all sorts of bad things to him. A moment would pass and his attention would be back on Louisa, as immersed in their talk as ever, and Juno's knees would feel just a little weaker. 

Another sweep of the room. One of the guards by the left door had been trying to subtly scratch himself for the past five minutes. Juno looked at Peter. He had a hand on Louisa's arm and was laughing. Juno kept looking. It was a little fascinating to see how Peter worked when he was completely in his element, no weapons of mass destruction or his identity on the line. He moved with such confidence as if he'd never been anyone else than who he said he was, he flashed sharp smile after a sharp smile, tilted his head in an almost condescending manner while listening to others talk, and he kept throwing Juno those looks.

Next time his eye landed on the thief, Peter was leaning forward to whisper something in Louisa's ear, which judging by her reaction was both a compliment, and completely inappropriate to say to someone you'd just met. He kept talking, close enough only for the now flustered woman to hear, but his eyes were locked with Juno's and he felt a chill run down his spine. 

Peter's gaze was intense, filled with heat and promise, and he knew exactly what it was doing to Juno's insides. 

Juno left his plate on the table and disappeared into the bathroom. He needed to compose himself and he also needed to smack Peter on the head for being completely unprofessional. 

The bathroom was lit by soft pink lights that made the eyeliner he was wearing look darker in the mirror. He closed his eye.The door opened and heels clicked on the black marble floor. 

"Are you alright, Juno?" Peter asked and had the audacity to sound concerned, even though his tone was laced with amusement. 

Juno took a deep breath and opened his eye. Peter was standing two steps behind him, head tilted to the side. 

"Cut it out, already!" Juno snapped, spinning around. 

"Cut what out?" Peter asked, arching his perfectly shaped eyebrows. 

Juno gestured at him. "This! The whole, whatever it is you're doing. Aren't you supposed to be focusing on Hawk?" 

Peter laughed in a way that wasn't quite like him, part of Jules Juno assumed. "I am, Juno. In fact, we were having quite an interesting conversation."

Juno rolled his eye. "Yeah, I could see that."

"My, detective, is that jealousy?" 

"No."

Peter took a step forward and Juno took one backward, the sink pressing against his spine. 

"What is it then?" Peter insisted. "Because, I assure you, there is no reason for it."

Peter was inches away from him now, his cologne completely surrounding Juno. "That's exactly it! You keep… Looking at me!" 

"You don't want me looking at you?" 

And there it was, where the line between Peter and Not Peter blurred, the act and the real thing bleeding into each other. Jules' unapologetic boldness and that damn softness in his eyes that Peter seemed to keep exclusively for him. 

Juno didn't stand a chance. 

Peter's hand touched the side of his neck and Juno had to lift himself up on his tippy toes to meet the thief halfway. Peter leaned into him and the edge of the sink dug into his back. The kiss was something fierce, the same colour as Peter's lipstick, and it tasted of overpriced champagne and danger, and it set Juno's skin on fire. It was the kind of kiss that stayed on your lips for hours, daring you to try and forget it. 

It was over way before Juno was ready to let go, but he allowed Peter to step back nonetheless. The thief's eyes were dark and intense in the pink light, his lipstick pristine as ever, unwilling to spill the secret of what just happened. 

"I'm not done with you just yet, detective." There was no mistaking the promise those words held, and Juno was left reeling as Jules Gold turned on his heels and left the bathroom, composed as ever. 

Juno splashed his face with water and left a minute later. Peter was back at Louisa's side, the woman laughing, oblivious to everything that was happening around her. 

Twenty minutes later Buddy gave the sign that they were good to go, and one by one they made their excuses. Peter stayed behind the longest, almost a full hour after Juno's exit. 

When he finally returned Juno was sitting in his room, idly playing a game on one of Rita's portable consoles, though he wasn't quite paying attention. When Peter showed up on his door his jacket was gone, his tie was loosened, and he was holding a bottle of that mediocre champagne in his hand. 

"May I come in?" 

"Will a no stop you?" 

Peter laughed as he entered, holding the bottle up. "I couldn't help myself."

"Clearly you did help yourself." Juno said, putting the console aside. "Though I don't get why. It sucks."

"The question is why not?" Peter sat down on the one chair in the room and crossed his legs. "And yet, will you share it with me?" 

Juno couldn't help a chuckle. It was as easy as that. Peter just needed to look at him with those eyes, those eyes that told him they would trust him through hell and back, and Juno was at his mercy. 

The champagne didn't taste that bad, though Juno assumed it was the company that made it better. And later when Peter kissed him again it left nothing but sweetness on his lips. Juno spent the night getting drunk on Peter Nureyev, he wasn't sure he ever wanted to taste anything else. 

Juno Steel became a detective for two reasons, he wanted to do good, and he was quite good at detecting. But he was getting to learn that not everything needed to be figured out. Peter Nureyev held a universe of mysteries, and for once Juno was ready to leave them be just that.


End file.
